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Death in Chains
|Written By = |Story By = Babs Greyhosky, Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster |Teleplay By = Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster |Directed By = Charles Siebert |Order in Series = 9 of 134 |Order in Season = 9 of 24 |Order in Franchise= 37 of 304 |Prev Episode in Series = "Prometheus" |Next Episode in Series = "Hooves and Harlots" |Prev Episode in Franchise = "Cast a Giant Shadow" |Next Episode in Franchise = "Highway to Hades" |title cap image = }} Hades, God of the Underworld and Lord of the Dead, asks Xena to undertake the daunting task of freeing his sister from the clutches of King Sisyphus, who has captured her in hopes of living for eternity. Summary As his wife Queen Karis nervously looks on, a confident King Sisyphus greets Celesta, the embodiment of Death, who has come to escort him to the Underworld of her brother Hades. Through trickery, the King captures and chains his visitor, rendering her helpless by seizing her eternal flame. Meanwhile, Xena and Gabrielle travel through an apple orchard in the forest. Gabrielle attempts to pick an apple from a tree, she moves to pick one when an arrow shoots through it. They are attacked by the evil thug Toxeus. In the heated battle which follows, Toxeus tries to stab her with a hidden dagger but Xena narrowly escapes, driving the knife into the chest of her attacker. As she and Gabrielle walk away, however, they do not see that the imprisonment of Celesta has already begun to have an effect - Toxeus' eyes pop open and his mortally wounded body is suddenly very much alive. arrives to ask Xena for help.]] As Xena and Gabrielle continue on their way, they are intercepted by Hades, who comes rumbling up from the Underworld to ask Xena to rescue his sister. He explains that if Celesta's flame is allowed to burn out, no one will be able to die. Eternal life -- filled with suffering -- will be the fate of all mankind. Xena agrees to help. On their way to Sisyphus' castle, Xena and Gabrielle are faced with the terrible realization that as long as Celesta is imprisoned, the ill will find no relief in death. When they stop to give comfort to a group of sick and injured people by the roadside, they meet Telus, a handsome and compassionate young man who helps Gabrielle dispense first aid. attacks Gabrielle forcing Xena to a rematch.]] Telus and Gabrielle are strongly drawn to each other and upon hearing about Celesta's capture, Telus insists on joining them in their mission. He reveals he can be of special help to them since his mother worked for the King when he was a small boy and he knows Sisyphus' castle quite well. At the same time, Toxeus, enjoying his newfound immortality, demonstrates to his band of thugs that they cannot be killed and convinces them to join in his campaign to hunt Xena down so they can capture Death for themselves. Xena dispatches Gabrielle and Telus to the local hospital to help the injured as she leaves for Sisyphus' castle. Pursued by Toxeus and his men, she scales the castle wall and steals into the fortress. At the hospital, Gabrielle is warned by an old woman that Xena will die if she touches Death or allows it to touch her. Fearing for her friend's life, Gabrielle sets out for the castle with Telus. After battling her way past several guards, Xena confronts Sisyphus in a dimly lit chamber, but falls prey to one of his tricks and falls through a trap door into a pit. After Gabrielle and Telus sneak into the castle, Telus, too, falls through a trap door into the same pit. Gabrielle successfully evades Toxeus' men as Xena and Telus escape the pit to face a succession of deadly traps. As Celesta's flame burns still lower, Karas finally offers her help, knowing that her husband's selfish attempt to cheat Death is wrong. She and Telus convince Sisyphus to release Celesta, but as he begins to unlock her chains, Gabrielle rushes in, followed by Toxeus and his men, who take her hostage. Xena fends off the thugs and manages to save Gabrielle's life by smashing the last lock holding Celesta with a direct blow from her chakram. As soon as Celesta is free, Toxeus and his men fall to the ground, dead. Sadly, Celesta then comes for Telus, who has been ill for some time, but not before Gabrielle bids a heartfelt farewell to her new friend. They hug and Telus moves to Celesta. She touches him and the two move through the door to the afterlife. Gabrielle hugs Xena and Xena tries to comfort her as Telus walks away. Disclaimer No Jumbo Sized Cocktail Rats were harmed during the production of this motion picture. Background Information Behind the Scenes *This episode is also known by the title "Death is M.I.A.". *This episode was the third to be written, after Sins of the Past and Chariots of War, but ended up being filmed as the tenth. It explains why Gabrielle isn't carrying her staff in the episode and it makes sense why they placed it before Hooves and Harlots. So the continuity error is simply Gabrielle wearing the wrong outfit. Key Events *This episode marks the first appearance of Toxeus. *This episode marks the first appearance of Celesta in the Xenaverse. *This episode marks the first appearance of Sisyphus in the Xenaverse. *This episode marks the only appearance of Karis on . She will later appear in the episode "Highway to Hades." *This episode is the first to feature Xena without her large belt, which she used to keep her Chakram on (and her sword in earlier episodes). *This episode marks the first appearance of Gabrielle's second costume. *This is the first appearance of Erik Thomson as Hades, previously played by Mark Ferguson in Hercules in the Underworld. In addition, he is the only actor to play the same role in and . He will later be replaced by Stephen Lovatt in the episode "God Fearing Child." *This episode was followed up by the episode, "Highway to Hades", which premiered the following week. Both episodes feature Sisyphus and Karis (as well as the same actors portraying them). Goofs *Gabrielle is wearing her amazon attire in this episode - an outfit she doesn't recieve until the following episode. *Toxeus and his men all suffered fatal wounds, just like the people who were involved in the landslide and even Telus. This means that they should have been in pain, like Telus and the victims of the landslide were. *Celeste comes for Sisyphus but in the end she takes Telus with her. Did she expect to find him in the castle or why did she come there in the first place? Trivia *'''Chakram Count: '''2 **1) To cut the branch so it would fall on Toxeus. **2) To prevent Toxeus from killing Gabrielle and to release Celesta. Links and References *Lucy Lawless as Xena *Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle Guest Stars * Erik Thomson as Hades * Ray Henwood as Sisyphus * Leslie Wing as Karis References People Deities Places Other Season Navigation de:Ohne Tod kein Leben Category:XWP Season 1 episodes